The invention relates to a device and a method for mixing solid, powdery, and/or liquid substances, such as coloring substances.
Commercially available coloring substances consist of pigmented liquids which, after application to a body, transform into a thin, normally opaque, film. The liquids contain resins, solvents, pigments, and if need be further additives, which affect the properties of the coloring substance. The resin determines the strength of the resulting film after the solvent has dried. The pigmentation determines the hue of the coloring substance.
The hue resulting from the mixing of coloring substances results from the subtraction of the individual hues from white light. Consequently, the proportions of individual coloring substances which are specified in a mixing formula determine the hue of the resulting mixture. If mixing does not take place exactly according to the mixing formula, a deviation from the desired hue results, which is especially troublesome if a body which was coated in original hue in some places is to be newly painted or lacquered.
It is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,153,825, columns 1 and 2, that paint manufacturers give microfiche lists containing mixing formulas to customers who visualize the sought mixing formulas by means of projectors, note the formulas, for example, on a piece of paper, and then in a laboratory or workshop assemble the specified mixture.
Interpretation of the specified mixing formula, which may be formatted in manufacturer-specific manner, and copying it onto a piece of paper, is time-consuming and often subject to error. Furthermore, if the quantities to be produced in the mixing process are not standard quantities, conversions may be necessary.
For this reason, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,153,825, column 2, a computer system is proposed which allows mixing formulas and associated numbers to be called up and, by means of a printer, printed on, for example, labels. The system further allows the calculation of portions for mixing a non-standardly specified quantity. At the same time, the system serves to perform cost calculations and monitor the inventory (see also U.S. Pat. No. 5,153,825, FIG. 1).
It is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,718,268, that liquids can be filled into containers in accurately measured quantities. Use can be made of scales which allow the filled quantity to be measured accurately. In this manner, the portions required for a mixed product can be accurately measured out.
The computer system described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,153,825, column 2, allows the user to conveniently call up, calculate, and print out data of a mixing formula. The data obtained are entered into a measuring device, such as a computer-controlled scale, after which the corresponding substances can be manually filled into a mixing container. Further possible is the use of a mixing robot provided with a measuring device, for example the device according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,718,268, which, after the data have been entered, automatically fills the substances in the specified proportions into a mixing container.
Use of the described computer system for mixing substances can be associated with substantial effort, which can be particularly caused by the selection and/or printing of the data, transfer of the data from the computer system to the measuring and/or mixing device, and entering the data into the measuring and/or mixing device. Furthermore, incorrect entry of the mixing formula can result in faulty mixed products.